Jacob_Roberson:qualtrough: the feelings of extreme bitterness that a lot of Western flight attendants seem to have.

This. What is that stuff? Why are they all like that?

"Yes lady, obviously I should've known you were talking to me. Even though my head was turned talking to someone else at the time. And yes it's all my fault. I'm wasting your time. You could've been whole inches (!!) further down this flying cattle car if I'd just told you whether I wanted a 2 cubic inch diet sugar free caffeine free peach watermelon Pepsi or not."

Next time someone suggests that tipping should be outlawed, tell them this story. This is what happens when servers (yes, that's what they are, folks) no longer need to work for tips.

bingethinker:SacriliciousBeerSwiller: I love the denial on the part of attendants that part of their job is to be attractive. Sorry, but it has a direct impact on the traveler's experience (air travel is unpleasant enough as it is), and that equals money. I'm a liberal guy, but these complaints make as much sense as a fat guy complaining that Chippendale's won't hire him.

Waitresses get hired for their looks, to a certain degree. Why should sky waitresses be different?

This is actually a very sad manifestation of misogyny in our society. Women would GREATLY prefer to load thousands of pounds of luggage into plane after plane, just like they would MUCH RATHER spend a ten-hour shift in a hot and sweaty kitchen. It's the same thing in the construction industry; women would PREFER to shovel hot asphalt instead of holding up traffic signs. We're just not letting them show what they can do.

I propose a mandatory federal pricing plan based on the weight of passengers and their baggage. Say the base ticket is 10 cents per mile. Then a customer/baggage weight surcharge is added at maybe 10 cents per pound. Now to make it interesting, there should also be age/weight rebates for every sky waitress on the flight, say $1 for every year over 30 and $1 for every BMI point over ideal for their height/weight. Also a $10 rebate for any male FA and another $50 for "bad attitude"

A couple of flights where the airline had to PAY OUT money to customers and I guarantee that every flight would be staffed by hot, bubbly 20-year-olds.

rumpelstiltskin:ThinkingGuy: Interesting list from Patrick Smith showing the percentage of various planes' weight that that passengers comprise (crew is, of course, a small percentage of that percentage):http://www.askthepilot.com/airfares-by-the-pound/

Yeah, like the average American weighs 190 pounds. Maybe the average fourth grader.But you have a point. I have a counterpoint. The problem with fat people in the air isn't the force with which the earth attracts them. I honestly don't even notice that when I'm flying next to some sausage encased in 48" polyester trousers. What I do notice is, there's a limited amount of space in a plane, and the packing problem becomes non-trivial when you're talking about shoehorning zoo exhibits into that space.The military makes perfectly good cargo planes. Those planes have lifts and winches and rollers and all the other accoutrements that would make flying convenient for fat people. Why do they need to be on passenger planes?

You remember that recent cargo plane crash that got filmed and uploaded to youtube? Cargo straps come loose during takeoff, large military equipment starts moving around, plane freaking rotates in midair and noses into a firey crash?

Now imagine a bunch of Walmart-Americans trying to shuffle around their mobility scooters -- of COURSE they're still in the scooters, its their God-given right to move about whenever they want, Glenn Beck done told them so, ain't no commie Obama flight attendant gonna say no different -- during the takeoff.

1) The airlines mentioned are being 100% rational and reasonable. As long as more weight costs the airlines more (which basic physics can assure you it always will) the logical thing for airlines to do is reduce weight where they can. They absolutely should hire the lightest folks they can. If males were on average lighter you can be sure they would be hiring them instead. It is therefore not gender discrimination.

2) Not only should they hire small folks from a cost perspective but also from a space perspective. Airliners are incredibly cramped with miniscule space between the aisles to push those carts down. The space in the seating rows are even worse. The last thing I want as a customer is some 300 lb fatty grinding his or her hips into my elbow every time they walk by or leaning an ample belly into my face to reach over me and hand the customer in the middle a drink.

3) Charging passengers based on weight (bags + passenger) would be the absolute most fair and reasonable way to charge. It is a simple fact of physics. The heavier the load the more fuel will be burned. It is blatantly unfair to force a person who inherently costs less to transport to pay more than his/her fair share to cover the folks that cost more to move. Before you get all pissy realize that this doesn't favor me at all. I am a 200 lb male and would no doubt pay more than I currently do. That is fine with me. A rational cost structure is more important than the cost to one particular person. Besides, I could always lose some weight if I was really bothered by the cost. Yet another reason to charge based on weight; it would incentivize folks that fly a lot to lose some weight (clearly needed here in the US).

serial_crusher:Do you guys think maybe some day we'll become mature and competent enough to fetch our own drinks, tell ourselves it's time to turn off the approved portable electronic devices in preparation for landing?

No farking shiat!? When did stewardesses stop being hot chicks (even if some of them were getting a little long in the tooth, they still held themselves together with a good old-fashioned calorie-restricted diet, Virginia Slims and Jazzercise) and turn into a bunch of lunch-ladies and balding gay dudes? I'm 40 on the dot, but I swear when I was a kid the air waitresses were all fairly attractive, skinny women. Seriously. What. The. Fark. Fewer Bruce's and Helgas, and more Bunnys and Heathers please.

Gah, give me a cute chipper flight attendant any day over the evil cranks that pass for FA nowadays. I've had run ins with rude FAs and they're Napoleans with wormwood and estrogen. No, chicken, you are not my boss for the duration of the flight. Give me my soda and GTF away.

Kyosuke:Jacob_Roberson: qualtrough: the feelings of extreme bitterness that a lot of Western flight attendants seem to have.

This. What is that stuff? Why are they all like that?

"Yes lady, obviously I should've known you were talking to me. Even though my head was turned talking to someone else at the time. And yes it's all my fault. I'm wasting your time. You could've been whole inches (!!) further down this flying cattle car if I'd just told you whether I wanted a 2 cubic inch diet sugar free caffeine free peach watermelon Pepsi or not."

Next time someone suggests that tipping should be outlawed, tell them this story. This is what happens when servers (yes, that's what they are, folks) no longer need to work for tips.

qualtrough:the feelings of extreme bitterness that a lot of Western flight attendants seem to have.

This. What is that stuff? Why are they all like that?

"Yes lady, obviously I should've known you were talking to me. Even though my head was turned talking to someone else at the time. And yes it's all my fault. I'm wasting your time. You could've been whole inches (!!) further down this flying cattle car if I'd just told you whether I wanted a 2 cubic inch diet sugar free caffeine free peach watermelon Pepsi or not."

oh cmon! I like the chunky middle-aged menopausal american flight attendants, whose antidepressants wear off half way through the flight, making them all sad and grumpy! Great for those long overseas flights.

In April of 2001 i went to flight attendant school in Dallas/Ft. Worth for American Airlines. In my class there were 19 women, 2 married men, a gay guy and me. Out of the 19 women, 3 were really hot, 5 were good looking, 4 were doable and the rest.....eh. The second day the hottest one confessed to me that she was a stripper while I was giving her a massage on my bed. A very good friend of mine is a chef in Dallas, I planned on hanging out with him at the restaurant, so I invited Cali to go with me. Told my friend Pete about her "She's a stripper? We're all gonna fark her!" I tell him I want to come in like that scene in Goodfellas where everybody knows Ray Loitta and they give him a special table, ect. So Cali and I arrive in a rented red convertible, I give the valet the secret word, and from that point it was "Mr. FarkinHostile! So good to see you!". Took us through the kitchen, everyone greeted me by name, it was totally cool. We get taken to the Chef Table, and the first thing Cali does is order a $200 bottle of wine. "Yikes", I think, and eventually the bill comes to almost $400. As I go for my wallet, Cali throws her sugar daddys credit card on the table. I tell her "This doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with you" We go out drinking with Pete and his roommate Andy, we hit Panteras strip club, we get all farked up. On the drive home, Andy has Calis shirt off and is sucking her tits. We go back to Petes place and proceed to gang bang her.

That was the third day. I was there for a month. Flight attendant school was crazy for a single straight dude.

speciaal:csb: future mother-in-law just had to fly home to Korea for a family emergency. I took her to the airport ( to try to help if there was any problems because she doesn't speak English very well). the counter of Asiana airlines had some of the most beautiful women at the counter. I jokingly mentioned this to the fiancee, and she told me that the flight attendants are even hotter on the airplane. she told me that they still have beauty standards on the planes there. weigh ins before the flight, forced retirement at 30ish, etc. I don't agree with the methods, but nothing wrong with eye candy on a 12+ hour flight.

Just about any Asian airline (Cathay, Thai, Singapore, EVA, Korea, etc. & etc.) will be staffed by extremely attractive women who somehow manage to suppress the feelings of extreme bitterness that a lot of Western flight attendants seem to have.

Businesses are allowed to discriminate if it serves a legitimate business purpose. I remember reading about a barber with a "no black people" sign who got away with it because he doesn't work on what google tells me is actually called "Afro-textured hair". (Other "legitimate" examples are churches hiring only members of their flock, female gyms only hiring women, businesses that help disabled people get jobs only hiring disabled people, etc) Claiming they are discriminating to save fuel might actually fly...